Survival Wednesday - Holding Fire Without Burning!

My current WIP, The Black Adders revolves around Raven Adder, a woman who grew up working the carnival circuit with her family of gypsies. Forced into hiding over a betrayal, Raven tries to settle into a"normal life" even chancing her heart on former cop, Ben Farrell.


Almost at ease, she is shaken when a series of mysterious notes  from the "old country" begin to show up. Unsure if they're a threat or a warning, Raven must delve back into the dangerous world she left behind in order to save the family that swore to get even...

Part of the fun of writing this main character is her internal dialogue detailing the behind the scene secrets of amazing feats such as Sword Swallowing, Fire Breathing, which I already covered, and of course...appearing to ignite a ball of fire in your hand.  In your HAND!!


Because really...who hasn't tried this already?


As I've said before in my Survival Wednesday posts, this information is for fiction use only. That means real people cannot do this at home! But virtual people...stuff always goes off without a hitch for them, so have at it.


One of my favorite sites for learning how to do things that don't really fall under the category of "Normal" is a great place called, Wonder How To.com. This website is spectacular because the written directions are great...but the videos are amazing!


So from Raven Adder to you...I leave you with a wonderful step-by-step video on how to turn a t-shirt and some string into a spectacular, if not deadly, party trick!


Until next time...Go Write!

Learn How to make fireballs you can hold in your hand. For more Science How-To Videos & Articles, visit WonderHowTo.

Photograph by Ktylerconk. Photograph by Jamie Neely.

Survival Wednesday - Secret Signals

In the second book of my Shades of Hope series,we meet Ruby Dawn and her love interest who happens to be a DEA agent.  


In honor of the handsome and charming Tom, as well as all things clandestine and shady, today's post will be about secret signals to another person.


As many of you are aware, I own quite a few unusual books that I use for research. One of my favorites, the one I used the most for Tom's character layering and quirks, was The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception by H. Keith Melton.


I created for Tom, a love of magic that stems from an incident as a teenager. He also loves the cloak and dagger way of doing things. 


Because of this, I had the opportunity to research some interesting facets of old school signaling...some that are still in use today.


Let's say that two people have to work together, but cannot contact each other by traditional means because they might get caught...


There are four critical criteria for signals used in the spy trade:

• It cannot be unusual. 

This is why the whole, "Flower in the Buttonhole" was so popular in old movies and fiction.  Nowadays it might be a certain baseball cap or phone case.

• You must be able to see it instantly.

Once glance should be enough. You don't want to make the other person stare at others like a psychopath...it might give them away.

• It has color and color attracts attention.

Again, its imperative that your signal be easy to pick out of a crowd.

• In an of itself, at that time in history, wearing a flower had no significance. 

Wearing a larger than normal flower, or a specific color flower set you apart from all the other gentlemen...or in this era...a red baseball cap or bright green sneakers wouldn't be all that strange.

Perhaps you don't want to wander around in a crowd, or simply don't need to meet face to face. Maybe you just need to send a quick message.

Some ingenious ways I've learned about are in plain sight...you would never notice.

• A wrapped package with the twine in a specific pattern. You have information to pass on.

• A row of pens in a pocket, red, for instance to show you think you've been made.

• Your tie in a specific way, untied, hanging over your shoulders, tucked in a pocket...to signal an emergency extraction.

• You might have something specific missing, a shoelace, or an earing. 

All of these signals can be explained, marked as coincidence, or simply missed UNLESS you're looking for them.

Strange skills are a great way to layer a character and add to the plot. Some simple research may open your eyes to a whole new set of ideas and conflicts to enliven your story.

What are some things you've learned specifically for writing a character?

Until next time...Go Write!

Survival Wednesday - No Such Thing As Untraceable

So today we explore the concept of survival in the field of Private Investigation. 

For my first book, Purple Knot, in which the heroine is a detective, I did so much research that I started to scare my family. 

Not really, but they were impressed by the tricks of the trade I shared at dinner.

Something that really baked their noodle was the concept of untraceable cell phones not really being all that...well, untraceable. 

In the movies, sure, you get an ominous call from a stalker or a kidnapper and its just like it came from ghost...no way to trace it, right?  

Uh, maybe not.

Part of my research took me to a great book by Steven Kerry Brown called The Complete Idiot's Guide to Private Investigating. As a jumping off point for your research into the ins and outs of trade, this is a wonderful place to start. Of course, its just an overview, but the book offers some great myth busting along with facts.

One such myth is the Untraceable Cell Phone.  In fact it just might be easier to hit *67 than go to the trouble of buying a "Throw Away" cell to make those calls...if you were a fictional bad guy, that is.

Here are the reasons why...

• Let's say you paid in cash, so they can't trace you, right?

Well...that's a start, but really, that's not enough to cover your tracks. If you make a call with the phone, even to those who have no caller ID, law enforcement can get a record of numbers that called a victim's phone.

• So they have your number...so what? I paid in cash, so no name. I'm in the clear.

Well, not so much your name...but where you live and what you look like...so your anonymity just went down a few notches.

Retailers keep track of the phones they sell via an Electronic Serial Number (ESN) programmed into it.  The cell company that activates the phone knows which ESN number went to which stores.

 

• So what, you say? Thousands of people shop at that particular store. They wouldn't be able to know who bought the cell phone or when...I'm safe.

Nope. 

Cell phones require activation at the time of purchase. Look around your store next time...see any cameras? Guess who is on a time-coded recording?  Now guess who now has the cell number, where you bought it, when you bought it...and now, a photo of you buying it?

• Its just a picture of a random person who paid cash. No one knows who I am...I'm still one step ahead of the good guys.

Well...you're not, really.

If you called anyone else on that phone, all they have to do is show a picture of you (the one from the store) to those people...and unless you hang with criminals - which is possible, you are a fictional bad guy - someone will tell them your name.

• My den of thieves will never reveal my evil identity!

They don't have to. Because every time you turn on that phone, if law enforcement is monitoring your cell number...they can pinpoint the cell towers you are pinging off of.  So they wait to see the area...and they come armed with your picture and ask...and wait...and sooner or later --- You're toast.

Now since this is all for fiction writing purposes only, we can take liberties with technology. Diabolical minds are able to outwit these types of moves by law enforcement thus ratcheting up the conflict and tension. 

**Remember, your main character has to stand out from the rest...their own unique ability or approach or insight are what saves the day.**

If you use the facts to set up an impossible situation, then getting out of it and out smarting the villain is all the more sweet.

Keep in mind that knowing how the system works helps to open up the imagination to ways around it. As always, research is a key component to writing a great story.

Until next time...Go Write!

Photograph by Deleranto Bestiole.